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Thursday, September 29, 2016

I picked up this set in my recent Mecca haul as I'd heard really good things about these eyeliners and I thought it was a good opportunity to try out a few different colours without purchasing them all fullsize. I don't use coloured eyeliners a lot so it seems a bit silly to fork out $33 for each individual shade when this kit for five mini sizes was only $48.

Unfortunately this review is not a positive one and I have a few different reasons why. I'll review each shade individually.

Perversion

"black matte"

This is really pigmented and really black. Unfortunately it just doesn't stick to the eyes. It is an extremely soft eyeliner meaning it's hard to get a precise line and if you attempt to blend it out with a blending brush it just blends right off your eye.

Zodiac

"a smoky black with blue and green sparkle"

This looks absolutely nothing like the green that's shown on the box and that pissed me off the most about this set. The green shown on the box looks like a bright forest green colour when in actual fact this is more of a khaki green and hardly shows up at all on the eyes

Delirious

"deep metallic purple with shimmer"

I'm still searching for a really good purple eyeliner that actually shows a true colour. Similar to the green this just doesn't show up on the eyes and turns into more of a muddy brown when blended.

Accuse

"bright metallic blue with shimmer"

This is the best of a bad lot. This is an actual blue eyeliner and shows up fairly well but as with all the eyeliners in this set they are just too soft and when blended they just come straight off.

Muse

"deep metallic brown with burgundy shimmer"

Hard to see the burgundy shimmer they're referring to here - this is your basic brown eyeliner and is probably the only one that shows it's true colours on the eyes.

Overall I would say don't waste your money on this set. I certainly won't be wearing these eyeliners at all which is a total waste of the $48 I paid for it. I just hope this review stops someone else wasting their money. I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried the full size of these liners to see if its a common theme with all their liners or if they've just cheaped out with their mini travel set.

Monday, September 26, 2016

I'm a sucker for a beauty box but when I saw this one was supporting women's mental health it was a no brainer for me to sign-up and support this initiative.

Depression, anxiety, PTSD and PND are all things that have affected friends and family as well as me personally so setting aside a month of the year to raise funds specifically for organisations that are supporting women with mental health issues is something close to my heart. The Liptember campaign is designed to raise funds and awareness for mental health issues throughout the month of September. All funds raised are donated to the Centre for Women's Mental Health and Lifeline.

The Beauty Box is just one of the ways to support this campaign and the cost is $30 (plus $8.95 for postage). When I received my box I was blown away by how heavy it was - definitely needed both hands. When I opened the box I just couldn't believe how much they'd crammed in. It was definitely a lot more than $30 worth of product. Check out the pics below to see everything that was in the box.

There's only a few days left of September and I'm not sure how long the beauty boxes will be available for so head over to the website quick if you'd like to support this awesome campaign and get an awesome supply of beauty products at the same time.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The Spring Edition of the Parcel landed on my doorstep yesterday and as usual it was stacked full of products. This is by far my favourite beauty subscription service and is now the only one I'm subscribed to.

Here's what was inside:

St Tropez Classic Bronzing Mousse and Applicator Mitt

I love the St Tropez tanning products - they always produce such a natural colour and I was glad they included the tanning mitt - definitely a must for application.

C-LAB & CO Coffee & Coconut Scrub

I haven't heard of this brand before but I love these type of body scrubs - excited to try this out.

The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask

This is a small sample of a mask - I'm not sure that I'll try this as it might be too 'purifying' for my dry skin.

MOR Mon Amie Adele Luminous Body Milk

This smells really light and refreshing and is in a spray form making it super easy to just spray on, rub in and go.

Narciso Rodriguez Eau de Toilette

This is a 4ml sample

Sunsense Sensitive Invisible SPF50

Another little sample - good size to throw in the handbag and I'm sure will come in handy in Summer.

Nude by Nature Natural Mineral Cover

I was excited to see this as I really like this product but unfortunately the shade is Medium and is way too dark for me.

Essano Argan Oil of Morocco Duo Pack

2x 50ml bottles of Shampoo and Conditioner. I like to keep these aside for future holidays as they're the perfect size for travelling with.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi Purpose Dry Oil

This is a 10ml trial size bottle of absolute liquid gold. One of my favourite body oils. Love this!

Maybelline New York The Nudes Palette

This is probably the star product out of the whole box. A full size palette of 12 nude eyeshadows.

Overall this is another box that I'm really happy with. I think this box is great value for money with a good mix of products I already know and love and some new brands and products to try out. The Parcel costs $25 per box and comes out four times a year (seasonally).

Monday, September 19, 2016

I've been raving about this mascara in just about every post these last couple of months so I thought it was about time I gave it it's own review. The Poni Cosmetics White Knight mascara became my new holy grail mascara the very first time I used it. It's the very first tubular mascara I've ever tried and when it came with Zoe Foster Blake's endorsement... well that was the only encouragement I needed to give it a try.

What Poni Cosmetics say about The White Knight Mascara:

"It truly is the ultimate mascara! This tubular mascara has a list of features and benefits as long as your arm. No Panda eyes ever - guaranteed, Water resistant, doesn't run, smudge or transfer onto the skin, even in humid weather, great for sensitive eyes, simply slides off using just water in the shower, build able and safe to use with lash extensions, contains 3 powerful growth ingredients and has a dual functioning brush - volume and length. The perfect mascara for any one, of any age."

For those of you who don't know about tubular mascara, they're not too much different to regular mascaras in their application and look but on the lash they kind of wrap around each lash individually like a tube. You can't really tell when you're applying it - in fact the only way I can tell is when I'm removing it. This is the easiest mascara in the world to remove as it doesn't require any special cleanser just some warm water and swipe away. You'll see the mascara come off in little tubes or lines on your makeup pad.

The White Knight mascara is in your basic mascara packaging but the brush is actually two brushes in one. You have two choices Volume or Length - they're the exact same brush except when you unscrew the wand from the top (Length) end it scrapes off excess product similar to wringing out a mop. When you unscrew from the volume end it leaves that excess product on hence giving you more product and more volume.

The White Knight mascara gives me length, curl and volume all in one tube. It applies easily and removes like a dream. But the very best part of this mascara and why I love it so so much is that IT DOESN'T SMUDGE. EVER. In hot weather, cold weather, rainy weather, gone are the days of panda eyes and my mascara dotting under my eyebrows when I look up.

Monday, September 12, 2016

I love finding out what people's holy grail beauty products are so when I saw Jaclyn Hill make the Ride or Die Tag YouTube video I just knew I had to do it too. Obviously I don't make YouTube videos but I thought I'd do a blog post all the same. The rules are simple: List your ride or die cosmetic product from each category (foundation, blush, mascara, lip products etc). If you could only take ONE from each category to a desert island, which would you choose?

Instead of rambling on about each product I'm just going to list my holy grail product under each category but if you want to know more about a particular product or why I love it feel free to leave me a comment below.

PRIMER

Nivea Mens Sensitive Post Shave Balm

FOUNDATION

Estee Lauder Double Wear

CONCEALER

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer

POWDER

Napoleon Perdis Camera Finish Powder

BRONZER

Benefit Hoola

BLUSH

Mac Mineralize Skin Finish in Blonde

HIGHLIGHTER

Becca Champagne Pop

MASCARA

Poni Cosmetics The White Knight

EYELINER

Eye of Horus Smoky Eye Goddess Pencil

BROWS

Anastasia Beverley Hills Dipbrow

EYESHADOW PALETTE

Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons

LIPLINER

IT Cosmetics Your Lips But Better Waterproof Lip Liner Stain

LIPSTICK

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

LIPGLOSS

NYX Butter Gloss

If you're a beauty blogger and you do this tag please feel free to leave me a link below to read. For all other readers I'd love to know some of your holy grail products too.

Monday, September 5, 2016

I've gone a little crazy recently buying new products and I think I'm going to have to impose some sort of shopping ban on myself to gain back some kind of control! All of these favourites are products I've picked up in the last couple of months and have fallen instantly in love with.

Maybelline Fit Me Dewy & Smooth Foundation (Normal to Dry)

I'm on a current search to find my holy grail foundation. I'm looking for medium to full coverage that sits nicely on my dry prone skin. It's a mission!! This Maybelline foundation just about ticks all the boxes and if it just lasted a little longer on my skin it would definitely hit that holy grail status. At this stage I'm calling it one of my top three foundations. For someone with 15+ foundations in the drawer this is a big call.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

I picked this up at the same time as the foundation and I love this just as much. It's perfect for everything from under the eye to blemishes and anywhere else you just need that extra little bit of coverage. It blends beautifully and once set with powder isn't going anywhere

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in Something about Berry

I picked this up in my recent birthday haul from Mecca and it's another one that was love at first swatch. It's highly pigmented with just the right amount of shimmer. Love!

Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum

I've spoken about this before but I was truly blown away by the actual results I could see on my skin when I used this product. This is a trial sized version but I'll definitely be picking up a full size bottle shortly!

NYX Liquid Suede in Tea & Cookies

This is a cream lipstick that dries to a matte finish. It lasts really well but doesn't dry out the lips like some matte lipsticks do. I love the fact that I can wear this without feeling like I've got anything on my lips at all. It's the perfect no-fuss lip product. I'll definitely be picking up some more colours from this range.

Well that's the end of my Top 5 for August. I'd love for you to comment and let me know one of your top products for last month.